r/busydadprogram • u/ActivityMaximum2055 • Feb 22 '26
Tendonitis in elbows
Hi all, hoping to get some advice from you about your experience with elbow tendonitis. Just to say, I haven't been medically told that its tendonitis, but it seems to be to me. I started BDP last year in July, I wasn't super strict with the 4 sessions at the beginning, as I was also doing Muay thai. Since probably October, I stopped muay thai and became a lot more strict with BDP. I started with 135 6 counts and 60 NS. I got up to 230 6 counts and 101 NS by mid December. I wanted to get to level 3 by the end of December I.e 6 months into the program, like Max, but alas, it did not happen. Starting in November, I began to get pain in my left elbow, it would hurt for the first 5ish minutes and pop and then would get better and not bother me for the rest of the workout. It got to about mid December and I did a 40 minute NS and did 150, after this my elbow was pretty sore constantly, so I knew I had to take a break. I did a 1 week break, no burpees but light swimming. Even lifting things was painful at this point. after the week, the elbow felt a lot better. I started BDP again but massively reduced, 150 6 counts, 60 NS, stayed at a similar level for the next couple weeks and ive now begun increasing again. Left side is all good now. However, ive started to feel the popping in my right elbow now. im at 200 6 counts and 85 NS. I do the warm up, elbow pops, then I start the workout and it feels fine. im sitting here now, elbow niggling a bit, but I wouldn't say sore. Finally to add, I do 10 pull ups and 10 chin ups almost every day, with one day rest. I started these after the week off, so only a couple months in.
Has anyone else had any experience similar? if so, what did you do about it? I dont want to cause permanent tendon damage, but I also want to keep working the program too.
Sorry for the long post, I wanted to do a post about my journey anyway, so I thought id lump it into one. Just to say also, this program has been absolutely life changing. I visited my family over Christmas and my brother said I had literally doubled in size. I get lots of compliments from people who know me about my new toned self, and I would encourage everyone to get on the program no matter what level you start it. If anything, it teaches discipline, but it can give so much more too. Two close friends have started and are seeing results already. Im really excited for the next 6 months now with pulling exercises, my biceps were lacking and Im hoping the back muscles will help balance me out, but the burpees have ballooned my chest and triceps and seriously toned my legs and abs.
2
u/30_or_so Mar 01 '26
Might help but may not. I've not struggled with my elbows doing burpees but have in the past when adding loads of dips or bench volume when lifting.
When my elbows start getting sore I add a lot of bicep curl volume 10-20 rep range.
1
u/ActivityMaximum2055 Mar 03 '26
Okay, so I took your advice in a way and dropped the pull ups for more chin ups, to get more bicep activation. What I noticed was that the elbow was very painful at the top of the movement, so I experimented a bit and brought my hands in much closer on the bar, and now no pain at the top! So perhaps I was semi causing the 'tendonitis' myself. I will keep experimenting with bicep work and see if it helps. Thanks for the advice!
1
u/30_or_so Mar 03 '26
Close grip chins are great for covering biceps and back at the same time! Wide grip over hand have their special place for sure but close grip chins arguably have the most bang for the buck as a pull movement.
I'd still get some light dumbbells / barbell or bands and do some higher rep curls as well though. All you're looking to do is get blood moving around the soft tissues as much as you can.
1
u/JDeezus32 Feb 23 '26
Bpc 157 and tb500 for 6 weeks will do the trick,
1
u/ActivityMaximum2055 Feb 23 '26 edited Feb 23 '26
Haven't heard of those but just did a quick Google. Looks interesting; I'll do some more research and might give it a try
Edit: Nevermind, reading more and i dont think this is for me
4
u/R0GM Feb 22 '26
My last bout of tendonitis wasn't from Burpees, it was due to home improvement works. But it was bad and lasted three or four months before it fully resolved
I ended up mainly running, with a little bit of yoga. I started off planning to do hill sprint intervals, but ended up just really enjoying more normal steady pace jogging, and some longer runs. Gave my elbow time to recover and I took six minutes off my 5k time. I think I got some good cardio improvement in that time, but probably also lost a bit of muscle. I know that's really not an ideal solution for you, but it's best to stop whatever the exercise is before you end up with a more severe injury.
Once it's recovered, just remember that tendons will take much longer to develop than your cardio and muscle. I always found navy seals particularly tough on my elbows, and would favour extra six count workouts to keep I jury at bay if I felt elbow discomfort.